Plan Sponsor Interview on Engaging Participants
What are some of the tools and strategies Genentech currently uses to engage plan participants that other plan sponsors might not have in their arsenals? Broadly speaking, how effective have they been in your view?
Instituted a financial incentive ($15 - $50) for four high touch, highly visible and action impacted financial activities (1:1 consultation with our 401(k) record keeper, completion of a financial wellness check up, completion of a retirement income analysis tool; attend a financial course webinar).
Yearly difference- 2020 (no incentive) vs 2021 (financial incentive):
Financial Wellness Checkup: 4x increase (1,672 to 6,958 employees)
Retirement Income Analysis Tool: 5.78x increase (1,903 to 11,011)
1:1 Session: 17% increase
Financial Course: Projected 2022 185% increase in attendance
Roche/Genentech's record keeper (holds 40% of Fortune's Top Companies) stated: Roche's plan engagement surpassed our book of business's top performers by 5%. Our annual employee/plan engagement usually hovered around 23-26%, with the incentives, it increased to 43% for 2021.
We have been absolutely stunned at the participant engagement, the data being collected by our vendor, the data our vendor can mine and provide us aggregate results, communication strategies, highlight site specific opportunities and challenges.
What types of financial wellness initiatives have you rolled out? Any that Genentech is considering but have not implemented yet? (student loans, HSA, etc.)
Currently offered: financial wellness coaching dedicated line/appointment scheduler; 1:1 appointment with a workplace financial consultant; live CFP directed web courses (80 courses annually). Broad spectrum of recorded webinars/web workshops/tools/resources/interactive platforms. Rate discount or bonus referral with a lender (student loans, personal loans, mortgages). Local-based credit union provides tailored financial vehicles for CA based employees, specifically Bay Area. FSA/HSAs, tuition assistance, insurance vendor discounts, employee discounts. Waiving deductibles for telehealth in high deductible plan;
Considering: emergency savings fund - ACH/payroll deduction option; student loan payment assistance; expand legal plan to cover parents
Do you see a noticeable difference between different employee groups? For example, between those who work in the office and those who work on the manufacturing end? If yes, how do you communicate the value of the plan and associated benefit programs to groups that appear to be less engaged? How do you communicate the value with brand new employees?
We currently have a Total Rewards Statement that is custom-tailored to each employee based on their benefit plan, work location, site specific amenities. It gives them an overall summary, which can be clicked in detail, of their total rewards package (base pay, bonus, LTI, benefits, perks, site amenities). We are currently revamping the statement to be linked to our new communications portal in a way where employees have the option of customizing their benefit website view to content that best fits their needs, in their stage of their career at their point in life.
Current internal survey data has shown that the manufacturing/supply chain/shift/non-exempt employees are the employees who we hear less about or know very little about their overall wellness, financial wellness in this instance. We are currently engaging the business and HR leaders at these sites to strategize on how to best meet these employees' needs. Initial conversations are proving that good ol fashion tactics still work best for this population: table tents, postcards, posterboards, live on campus seminars/workshops, benefit resources in person. Aligning our presence with campus wide initiatives where employees have scheduled time to attend training, workshops, events, fairs. Other feedback received has been to make surveys much shorter for this type of employee, app based, remove firewall barriers where employees can connect on their mobile device or general computer space available for easy login and completion during breaks or after shifts.